A well suited job
by CelticGuardian117
Summary: Lily and James have both ended up in the same bowling alley. What was he doing here in a muggle place, doing muggle things and acting like a muggle, at the specific place where Lily now works? Let's hope Lily doesn't lose her head before it's too late! (Could be canon)


Lily Evans was far from happy. For one, she was in a sweaty bowling pin suit for the past fifteen minutes and wasn't allowed to take it off for the next two hours. And it certainly didn't help that her mother was currently taking photos on a new polaroid camera.

Secondly, James Potter had just walked through the door and he would flaunted his way over had it not been for the stinky headpiece that luckily covered her face. He looked so out of place that LIly had almost not recognised him.

"Well, that's me, Lily, I've got to run." Her mother smiled at her fondly, then she squealed, "I'm so proud of you, Lily! I can't believe this is your first job and your Dad's not here to see it! Even _if_ it's a one-off. Well, I see you later then, LIly."

"Bye Mum." Lily's voice was muffled. Soon, LIly was standing alone in the bowling alley and she began to watch the far corner where James Potter was situated. What was he doing in a _muggle_ place, anyway? Did he even know what bowling was?

Well, whatever it was, he wasn't with the usual gang of boys he normally hung out with. No, today he was surrounded by groups of children ranging from ages 5 to 10. There was another old girl which, much like him, was leading the children here and there. LIly quirked an eyebrow. Then, before she could change her mind, she walked towards the herd of children.

* * *

James put up a bowling ball support. He was starting to get the hang of this new game. Muggles sure did think up weird ways of entertaining themselves. Then he reasoned that it was a sport, much like Quidditch, and it didn't seem all that weird after all.

"When's my turn?" A little blonde girl asked, clambering onto the plastic seat and standing up so that she was almost as tall as James, "My turn! MY TURN!"

James blinked, "You just had your turn, Emily."

Emily crossed her arms and stuck out her bottom lip. Her brow creased, and James gulped in anticipation. Emily was certainly one of the ...more vocal children in the group. James looked around nervously, then he noticed it.

"Look Emily, it's a giant pin!" He twisted her around by her shoulders so that she could see it. It was a large bowling pin with legs and a big smile and dimples.

Emily was immediately distracted, hopping off of the seat and scampering towards the already popular bowling pin. James sighed in exasperation.

"Good work, James." It was Johanna. She was a girl with piles of dark, curly hair and a red bandana to tie it all up, "You're pretty good with Emily, even if you're new."

"Thanks." James smiled, "I don't think I would have been able to handle it all summer, though."

"It's a gift." Johanna said mock-proudly. Her smiled disappeared however, when there was a deafening shriek.

It was Emily, of course, and unable to contain herself, she had jumped on the bowling pin mascot and was happily shrieking as the pathetic sod inside the suit was trying to stay standing.

"Emily!" James laughed, pulling her off of the pin, "What did I tell you about jumping on people?"

Emily's face turned solemn, "You told me 'Don't jump on people.'"

"Exactly." James chuckled. He offered a hand to the bowling pin that was currently stumbling over its own enormous feet.

* * *

"Thanks." Lily mumbled, realising that she was now face to face with none other than James Potter. She was somehow _more_ sweaty than before. He blinked,

"You sound _really_ familiar, " He said, "Have we met before?"

"Uh...I don't think so." Lily said in her best American accent, thanking Merlin that the suit muffled her voice. James looked confused, then he laughed,

"Yeah, I don't think I've met an American before. I'm James."

"Erica." Lily lied. SHe pulled her hand away from James, "Well, better get back to work."

Then she wandered away towards the crowds of kids that were eagerly awaiting her.

* * *

"You seem antsy." James noticed. The kids were currently preoccupied by the walking bowling pin, Erica, close by.

"Yeah, I've got a date after this." Johanna said with a weak grin on her face.

"Yeah?" James smiled, "First date, then?"

"Yeah." Johanna sighed happily, "I've liked him since primary so…"

"Oh," James laughed, "One of those dates, huh?" Johanna nodded happily, and James noticed a slight blush of colour on her dark skin,

"How about you? Do you have anyone?"

"Oh yeah, definitely." James said, smiling as he slumped against the back of the seat. "Lily Evans." He noticed the bowling pin pump its fist, but he ignored it when Johanna laughed.

"Aw, what happened?" Johanna teased,

"Well," James' smiled grew a little pained, "she doesn't really like me."

"What, really?" Johanna's expression turned confused, "That's impossible."

"Oh it's possible." James sighed, then he smiled, "we're friends now, though."

"Oh, nice. What's she like?" Johanna said, propping her smiling face up with an elbow. "Does she go to that reclusive school of yours that you won't tell me about?"

"Yeah, she does actually. We've known each other since we were eleven." James explained, "And I've liked her since we were fourteen. I caught her sneaking out of dorms after curfew, and it was funny because she has this idea that she has to be perfectly behaved. But she's always getting into trouble trying to prove people wrong. She doesn't like being predictable, you see. It's a lot of fun because you can get her to do all sorts of things just by saying she can't do it."

Johanna raised her eyebrows, and James shook is head,

"Not like that!" James blushed, his dark skin growing crimson.

"Yeah yeah, keep going." Johanna chuckled, and James grinned at her as he shook his head,

"You're evil, Johanna Jenkins. You know that, don't you?"

* * *

Lily didn't know what to do. Here she was, listening to James Potter talk about how amazing she was. It was more than she could have ever asked for. Well, perhaps not quite that, but it was certainly the happiest she had felt the entire summer holidays.

She had a big smile on her face, despite the hot suit draining away her energy by the second, as she waved to and hugged each child. Any regrets she had about the suit before had vanished now.

Parents were coming to pick up their children, and it meant that Lily's job was nearly over. Somehow she was disappointed. Had eavesdropping into James' conversation really made it worthwhile to be attacked by crowds of drooling children?

Maybe.

* * *

Johanna looked at her watch nervously.

"Are you going to be late for your date?" James asked.

"Not yet." She said, "Parents aren't supposed to be _this_ late, though."

"Well, I can finish up here if you want." James offered,

"Really? You'd do that?"

"Yeah, it's only Emily left. Besides, I know what it's like to be waiting for a date." James grinned. Johanna smiled,

"Thank you _so_ much! And...Lily Evans? She'll come round. You'll see."

James certainly hoped so.

* * *

Lily didn't know why she was so damn happy. Well, she knew. But she hadn't realised that she liked James _this_ much. There was one week left of holidays, and she didn't think she would be able to handle a whole week after discovering this new piece of information.

She smiled. She was so damn happy. She didn't think even _Petunia_ could manage to make her frown.

Then her world was shattered.

Emily. That...girl.

Unable to be separated from her beloved "Mr Tenpin", she had escaped from the clutches of her parents to give Lily one last hug. Emily tackled LIly to the ground, and the headpiece had fallen off. At once, EMily began to cry.

But it was James' face that LIly noticed first.

* * *

James was shocked.

"Evans?"

"Hi James." She smiled weakly from the ground. Her face was red, and her hair stuck to her forehead. There was an odd sort of smell wafting off of her.

And James didn't think she could look any more beautiful.

He grinned as he pulled her to her feet. Somehow, she grew a deeper shade of red. Emily was still crying in the background as her parents led her away, scolding her for attacking the poor redheaded girl.

"What are you doing here?" James asked.

"Working. Just for today. Anyway, I should be asking you the same thing! What are _you_ doing here?" Lily asked, "In a muggle place? Doing muggle things! Acting like a muggle!"

"Volunteering. Mum wanted me out of the house." He explained, running his hand through his hair. He noticed LIly glance towards his hair. "Why did you lie?"

"Lie?" LIly asked, confused.

"Or are you really an American called Erica?" James asked sarcastically.

"Oh, that." Lily laughed sheepishly, "Well, I think you understand when I say that being a giant bowling pin mascot is incredibly humiliating. Especially when you get mauled by kids."

"RIght." James sighed, "So did you...you know...happen to hear anything I was telling Johanna about?" LIly flushed,

"I don't know why you're interrogating a bowling pin." she sniffed.

"LIly Evans, were you eavesdropping?" He grinned, but his heart was beating faster than he would have liked. "So, I guess that fist pump of yours meant that you liked what you heard?"

"Oh, you saw that, did you?" Lily smiled.

"YOu weren't very subtle about it." James quirked an eyebrow.

"Well, of course I liked it. I don't think I've ever been complimented so much in my life." Lily said, teasingly. Then she laughed at James' expression, "I'm just kidding you git." she rolled her eyes to hide her shyness, "I've had a crush on you for ages."

It was James' turn to fist pump.

* * *

"I can't believe I'm courting a bowling pin. I didn't even know what that _was_ three hours ago." He said, once he had recovered.

"You're courting _me_? Excuse me, but I'm the one asking you out." Lily said crossing her bulky rubber arms.

"You are?" James looked as though christmas had come.

Lily laughed as James wrapped his arms around her around her waist. She had to stand on her toes to kiss him. And she did. Her arms were around his neck and his hand was already in her hair.

Before long, Lily realised that she couldn't breathe.

SHe pulled away, gasping for air, "It's too hot." She inhaled deeply. "I think I'm going to faint."

Then she fell over.

* * *

James didn't know what to do with the LIly Evans currently in his hands, so he called over the manager.

"SHe's fainted. SHe was supposed to take off the suit half an hour ago!"

"What can we do?" James asked nervously.

"SHe'll come around. We'll just have to take off the suit." THe manager explained. Then, at James' maroon face, the manager scowled, "She's wearing something underneath! Now, help me carry her around back."

WHen LIly woke up, she was on a couch in what looked like a kitchen. James was sitting on a table with a cup of coffee.

She wasn't wearing the suit anymore, just the shirt and leggings she had started out with.

"Lily! You're awake!"

"What happened?" LIly asked, feeling confused.

"Well," James messed up his hair and Lily smiled the smallest smile. "You fainted. And you were out for about ten minutes."

Lily blinked. "Right."

"So, um. Before you fainted...do you remember anything that happened?" James asked, looking nervous. Lily didn't know James could _ever_ feel nervous.

Lily smiled. She did remember.

"You know." she said standing up. "I think I do remember something...but it's a little hazy," She smiled and James laughed, "I think I might need a reminder.'

"Really?" James grinned, putting his arms around her waist for the second time today, "Well, Evans, I'd be happy to oblige."

* * *

 **Hi guys! Sorry for any grammatical errors or whatnot, I didn't read over it as much as I usually do so it's a bit rough. But when I was volunteering for a holiday programme for kids, there was a mascot that all the kids liked and they kept on attacking him/her. It was really funny so the first thing I thought of was JILY! ANd I needed to write it down before I forgot it. I literally wrote it down as I thought of it...so yeah. I'm well open to criticism so please feel free to nitpick and point out any mistakes!**

 **Thanks for reading! And please review!**


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